Has our 24-hour culture and addiction to technology and screens made it impossible to get the perfect night’s sleep? It might feel that way sometimes. However, there are innovations in sleep technology that can save your snoozing and your health.

Why do we need sleep technology?

You know the classic line that we need eight hours sleep a night, but how much can lack of sleep truly affect our lives in years to come? According to NHS Choices, one in three are affected by insomnia and nights owls, those who sleep less than six hours per night, have a higher mortality rate. One of the biggest reasons for this is our dependence and addiction to technology.

There’s an overwhelming amount of tech in our lives that makes it challenging to switch-off at bedtime, whether that’s shutting off the TV or prizing ourselves away from social media. But, we shouldn’t look at all technology in a bad light when it comes to bedtime. The answer to your woes could lie in technological sleep aids.

There’s an influx of sleep gadgets to help get the kip we need that have a direct influence on our fitness and mental wellbeing. Sleep tech devices are specially designed to soothe our senses and stimulate the things within us that make us sleepy. Just like reading a child a bedtime story or singing a lullaby to a baby, electronic sleep aids tap into those sleep buttons and help us to switch off when we switch them on.

There are different devices that have varying effects, depending on what you want to gain. Dreams have recently released a collection of sleep aid technology devices in their SleepWell range.

The benefits of sleep tracking

Despite it being something we all do every day, sleep remains a bit of a mystery. But there’s science behind the snoozing to make sense of our individual night-time behaviour. We know how our choices in nutrition and exercise affect us, but what about the time we go to bed and get up?

Through tracking, we are now able to figure the answers to this out along with the quality of sleep we’re getting – for instance, whether you’re a peaceful sleeper or restless, toss-and-turner, a deep or light sleeper. Tracking in this way can inform how to move forward with improving your sleep.

Technology takes from this with strips that usually sit on the underside of your pillow or mattress to monitor your sleep and position accurately, while not being invasive.

The SleepPal Sleep Tracker is the new sleep tech by Dreams, which consist of a small circular tracker that fits onto your pillow to measure your sleeping habits between going your going to sleep and waking up time. It works alongside their brand new Napp, an app where you can monitor and review your sleep quality daily, while also receiving tips on how you can improve your sleep.

The Dreams SleepPal+ Sleep Tracker offers all the same insight but differs by having a strip that sits between your mattress and sheet, allowing for better data gathering and unobstructed sleep while automatically syncing with the Napp.

Light sleeping

A key reason behind technology’s influence on our lack of sleep is blue light, artificial light emitted from such things as smartphones. Its short wavelength and higher energy affect melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, more than any other colour of light, tricking our brains into thinking it’s daytime and can have a devastating effect on sleep and general health.

The way to combat this is red spectrum light, as its longer wavelength is far less harmful to us and our sleep. Exposure to red light is more beneficial and can aid our sleeping because it won’t damage our melatonin, but instead aid its production.

On the back of this, light can be used to ease us into sleeping and help us wake up in a non-invasive manner. The Dreams SleepRise Sleep Aid brightens to kickstart your body clock – using light to wake you up naturally. When you are ready for bed, you can access sleep aid from the Napp app to help you drift off. The device will then work with your body and timers you set to help you get to sleep peacefully and wake up calmly. You can also play your own music through a Bluetooth connection to aid waking.

By using something that our bodies are naturally programmed to respond to, this will feel like a more organic way to wake up, as if you’re being awoken by the morning sun and soothing sounds rather than a screeching alarm.

The power of sleep scents

Scents are powerful; they can trigger a memory, place, person or emotion or now, through impacting our nervous system, sleep. Essential oils, or aromatherapy, have come onto the market and have been proved to aid sleep, by helping you fall into a slumber and make it more restful.

These oils have been around for centuries, but now, there’s a combination of aromatherapy oils and technology to match today’s modern, connected society. They combine to create an environment to fall asleep easily and be as mentally and physically healthy as possible.

One new piece of sleep tech that focuses on aromatherapy is the Sleepscent by Dreams which provides light, sound and aroma to help you go to sleep and wake up naturally. The essential oils used are proven to assist sleeping, available in jasmine, orange blossom or lavender. The light and sound will help you wake up peacefully which is sure to be a welcoming start to your day.

Sleep tech solutions

In a fast-paced world and society that lives every one of the 24 hours in a day, it’s never been more vital to get the amount of sleep you need to make sure you’re mentally and physically at your best. With the use of sleep aid technology devices, you might just find the perfect solution.

For more information on the full range of Sleepwell sleep technology aids from Dreams, take a look at the Sleepwell page.